Hannah coming home from school with a sad look on her fact yesterday was one of the most beautiful things I have seen. Let me explain.

Hannah came in with a bill for a book that she had wrecked. She somehow got the milk from her lunch all over the book. The book is totally destroyed and we have a bill for $17.20 to replace the book.

When Hannah walked in, her head was hung low and she had very sad eyes. She knew was “in trouble” and that there would be consequences for her actions. She also knew that she would be the one paying for the damaged book.

Sammy would have hidden the note and denied that it ever happened or blamed someone else for the damage.

Hannah accepted responsibility for her bad choice. She said that she did not have enough money to pay for the damage so she would have to do some chores to earn the money to pay for the damages. The only discussion we needed to have was what chores she would be doing to earn the money.

It’s wonderful to see that lessons that we have taught have been taken to heart. After years of struggling to get these same values and ideas through to Sammy, it made me so proud to have Hannah solve this problem on her own.

Hannah did ask if I would give her the money to take to school, but we reminded her that money is not paid or earned until the chores are complete.

Hannah was not able to go to school today because she woke up with a 102.7 fever. It seems that it is the thing to have in school today. She is enjoying the treat of being on the couch with orange juice and cartoons. One of the ones that she watched was called “Higglytown Heroes.” I admit I’m not up on the latest cartoons. It’s not a big thing in our house. In this show there is a “hero” who helps the kids when they have a problem. Hannah looked at me and said “Mama, you’re a hero.” I asked her what made me a hero and she replied “You keep me safe.”

These are the rewards that we hold onto tightly.

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